Ola gets licence from London transport authority for cab service
The licence paves way for Ola to launch its ride-hailing service in London, which is estimated to have eight million population.
Ride hailing firm Ola on Thursday said it has received private hiring vehicle operator licence by transport authority in London.
The licence paves way for Ola to launch its ride hailing service in London which is estimated to have eight million population.
Ola spokesperson said in a statement,
"London is one of the world's most iconic cities and hosts a progressive mobility environment. We couldn't be more excited to bring Ola to London in the time ahead! We are looking forward to building world-class mobility offerings for London, by collaborating with drivers, riders, the government and local authorities."
Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO, Ola
Ola already facilitates private hire vehicles (PHVs) and black cabs booking across 21 boroughs in the United Kingdom.
"Londoners will hear more from us closer to our launch in the city, as we get ready to serve them," the spokesperson said.
Over 10,000 drivers are estimated to have registered themselves on the Ola platform in the UK.
The ride-hailing unicorn has also raised $11.37 million (Rs 79.93 crore) as part of its ongoing Series J round, according to RoC filings accessed by YourStory.
The funding came from investors such as Swedish-based DIG Investment Ab, US-based Deshe Holdings, and Samih Abdel Rahman and Hussam Khoury, the two founders of Dubai-based technology investment firm Jabbar Internet Group.
On Tuesday, Ola’s electric mobility unit, Ola Electric, raised $250 million from SoftBank and marked its entry into the Indian unicorn club.
Ola Electric has also given a strong indication that it will enter the Latin American market.
Recently, the Karnataka Transport Department had asked cab aggregators Ola and Uber to stop their pool services immediately in Bengaluru. Prior to this, it had pulled up Ola’s bike services in March 2019.
Ola, which is offering its services across 50 cities in India, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, claims to complete over a billion rides annually with its over 1.5 million drivers.
